Pair of Tables

[alex grams]

I am working on a pair of tables, one for myself out of walnut, these are my first projects where I used turning as an integral part of a project.

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/22_zpsdae6f146.jpg

and one out of cherry as a commission for a fellow aggie:

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/3_zps08698d9b.jpg

Here are some pics of the work in progress. I am building the bases simultaneously then will make the tops afterwards together. Both tables will be 54" diameter tops with a 21" leaf for expansion.
glue up for columns in base, roughed out feet:
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/KitchenTable019_zpsbdc4902d.jpg

turned legs:
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/KitchenTable023_zps953b1b12.jpg

Routing mortises on lath:
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/KitchenTable030_zps1c176662.jpg

chiseling the mortises out square and clean up:
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/KitchenTable038_zps7b4cdd5e.jpg

All clean:
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/KitchenTable041_zps4ccb4152.jpg

I added some splines to the feet to help strengthen against any possible cracking along the grain line:


http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/KitchenTable057_zps17697c8c.jpg

test fit:
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/KitchenTable0492_zps4c2e2fca.jpg

base glued up:
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/KitchenTable061_zpsf57403e3.jpg

Second table:
sketch leg pattern and transfer to template:
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/KitchenTable074_zps520e023c.jpg

lay out test pieces for legs and joint positions:
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/KitchenTable091_zps21468802.jpg

cut lots of mortises:
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/KitchenTable081_zps05cd2951.jpg

test fit dados:
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/KitchenTable088_zps8bdb2be8.jpg

Turn the center column for the base:
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/KitchenTable086_zps8fe9c628.jpg

I have the legs glued up, but my next step is to rough them out and then cut a full length mortise on the column and a flat shoulder for the legs to fit in, which I will cut the matching tenon on the back of the legs to slot in. The edges of the legs will get a wide radius profile on them, just enough to soften them some and round it over, but a simple style and design. Then on to the tops...

[Floyd Cox]

Looking really nice

[Gus Dundon]

Did you post photos? I can't see any attached image. Might be not working for me.

[Jeff Monson]

Looking really nice Alex, your work is always inspirational. Its nice to see your sketch up renderings come to life, I really need to learn that program.

[alex grams]

Some progress. It has been slow but steady. The bases are complete, the tops have been made, and I started scraping the cherry table top. The wife liked the scraping texture of the cherry so much she wants it done on our walnut table. The skirt was a bent laminate for the walnut. About the only thing left to do is to sand everything down and break the tables down for finishing. The cherry scraped smoothly, but the walnut had a little more 'lift' in the grain, and the change in the density and grain direction in the walnut gave a little more 'chatter' to the tool. I took a veritas chair scraper and put a larger, smoother radius on it and did all of the scraping with that. It looks good, and while I am a perfectionist on a lot of things, the randomness and variation of the scraping done by hand turned out really nice.

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[Prashun Patel]

Wow, Alex. These are fantastic. Keep posting.

[alex grams]

Well, a long Memorial Day to get these tables wrapped up. Probably 20 hours over the weekend of sanding and applying finish.

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/KitchenTable295_zpsf2e01b55.jpg
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/KitchenTable293_zps88d8d5ae.jpg
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/KitchenTable291_zps947bb086.jpg
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/KitchenTable289_zps77d8daf2.jpg
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/KitchenTable287_zps6710e3c5.jpg
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/KitchenTable284_zps9ba0d4be.jpg
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt220/alexgrams/Furniture/KitchenTable282_zps46ea9ee4.jpg

The finish schedule on both tables was boiled linseed oil, followed by 2 coats of dewaxed shellac, then 2 coats of semi gloss lacquer, followed by a single coat of a satin lacquer with a hardening/cross-linking additive. The Additive helps make the topcoat resistant to scratching and abrasion, and also helps it 'burn-in' with the previous coats. I only used the additive on the topcoat as it flattens the finish some.

[Jim Becker]

Really great work, Alex!

[Andrew Hughes]

Nice work Alex, your tables remind me of a cross between Sam maloof and Edward Barnsley .

[glenn bradley]

Wonderful work Alex. I especially like the walnut tables design. The satin-like finish works well with the "scrub planed" surface treatment. What type of glue did you use for the floating tenons in the leg assemblies?

[alex grams]

Glenn, The floating tenons are done with just a simple PVA (yellow) glue. The legs for the cherry table had tenons going into the turned verticals that I used west system epoxy on, as those joints have the potential to be under a lot more stress, and I wanted to make sure the joint wasn't weakened by gaps in the mortise/tenon, which the epoxy does a much better job of holding and having strength in gaps than the PVA glue does.